Election shadow over crucial I-League match: Mohun Bagan vs Bengaluru game in uncertainty?

IT'S NOTHING UNUSUAL for football matches in Kolkata to suffer due to external factors it cannot control. The police have often forced dates to be changed and cut down the number of tickets being sold citing their own limited resources to provide security. The upcoming I-League clash between Mohun Bagan and Bengaluru FC may be heading towards a similar fate.

The match, scheduled to be held on 24th April - the last day of the I-League season - may turn out to be a title decider just like last season. Both Bagan and Bengaluru are occupying the top two positions in the league table and it wouldn't be surprising if this game serves as the final hurdle for the two title contenders. That makes it one of the most important matches of the season; not only due to popular interest around the rivalry between the clubs but also due to its footballing significance.

Unfortunately, the State Assembly Elections in West Bengal are being held around the same time. And Barasat, which is supposed to play host to the match, will go to polls the very next day on 25th April. It is unlikely that the police will like the idea of thousands upon thousands of emotionally charged football fans with a reputation for occasional hooliganism to converge on the town on the eve of elections. So there's a good chance that the match will be held on a different date or venue.

But looking for an alternate venue may end up being a bit tricky. The Salt Lake Stadium is off-limits due to renovations for FIFA U-17 World Cup (and Salt Lake has elections on 25th April, same as Barasat). The Howrah Stadium has been rendered unusuable by the Metro Rail project going on next to it. Rabindra Bharati Stadium, meanwhile, has outdated facilities and is missing a turf. 

That leaves the Kalyani Municipality Stadium as the only possible arena in the vicinity of Kolkata that has the facilities to host an I-League game. And by "vicinity", we're talking a 2 hour ride by local train from Sealdah and back. Also, the Kalyani stadium doesn't have floodlights; if the match takes place over there it'd have to be an afternoon fixture.

But once again, the elections may cause trouble for the match's possibility to take place in Kalyani. Because the Kalyani Municipal Stadium is one of the places under consideration by the Election Commission to become the strongroom for EVM machines during the elections. And if they decide to use it, there's no way a football match can take place over there.

That leaves us with the unpleasant possibility of the Mohun Bagan vs Bengaluru FC match being moved far out of Kolkata. The two plausible venues - if it comes to that - are Siliguri and Guwahati. Both are considerably far away from the city, but have been used as alternative venues by both Kolkata clubs. Mohun Bagan are playing their AFC Cup home games in Guwahati and East Bengal chose Siliguri to host their home leg of the Kolkata Derby. 

But moving the match to either of these places causes a massive trouble for the fans who want to witness this potentially historic encounter. Right now, football fans in Kolkata are being forced to go to severe lengths to arrange their travels to Siliguri for the Derby on 2nd April; making them go through the same hassle just a few weeks later would be an injustice. And worse off will be the dozens of Bengaluru FC fans who are planning to travel to Kolkata for the match. Moving the match too far out will completely mess up their travel plans.

It's yet unclear how the police and the host club, Mohun Bagan, will deal with the situation. Knowing them, they may drag their feet on this, waiting to see if the match ends up being a title-decider or not. But delaying a decision like this may leave fans, some of whom will be travelling across the country to attend this match, high and dry in a world of hassle and disappointment.